Knitting machine cam-needle apparatus



June 11, 1968 1.. A. BECKENSTEIN 3,

KNITTING MACHINE CAM'NEEDLE APPARATUS 4 w w n 0 9 i 7 R M/ 0 l L C .n 2T Mw I M m 2 1 e2 5 .m v WI m 1 w W Leonard A. Beckenstein fiww ATTORNEYWITNESS United States Patent 3,337,467 KNlTTlNG MACHINE CAM-NEEDLEAPPARATUS Leonard A. Beelrenstein, Farmingdale, N.Y., assignor to TheSinger Company, New York, Nil? a corporation of New Jersey Filed Nov. 1,1965, Ser. No. 505,805 3 Claims. (Q1. file-57) ABSTRACT OF THEDlSCLUSURE This invention relates in general to knitting machines, andin particular to cams and the like for raising and lowering the latchneedles of a circular knitting machine of the independent needle type.

The invention provides a complete reversal of the present generallyemployed practice of providing knitting machine cams with female slotsthat cooperates with needles having male butts, and instead provides acam-needle combination wherein cams in the nature of male memberscooperate with female slots within the needles. Such an expedientprovides, as will be indicated below, advantages heretofore unavailablein the knitting industry.

More specifically, the invention takes a conventional two-butt latchneedle and uses the inside walls of both such butts simultaneously ascam followers that cooperate with respective parallel surfaces ofactuating cams. This, as above noted, is opposed to the present practiceof having both sides of a single needle butt cooperate, at any giventime, with both walls of a female cam slot, and is somewhat akin to themanner in which the knitting machine sinkers cooperate with theiractuating means.

With the adoption of modern die casting techniques to the fabrication ofneedle actuating came, the problem of providing female cam slots toclose tolerances with respect to precisely controlled needle toleranceshas become comparatively acute, since without such tolerance control,stitch setting etc. during machine knitting may be haphazard, andattendantly high quality cloth cannot be manufactured. It has been foundthat the die casting of a prior art cam has been unsatisfactory, withoutsubstantial corrective machining, in the very area of the cam that is ofprincipal concern, viz. the relatively narrow female slot thataccommodates the male needle butt. To overcome this problem of diecasting a narrow slot in a cam, the present invention proposes thecomplete elimination of such slots, and the use instead of the outsidewalls of the cam member itself for cam surfaces, which outside walls byvirtue of their respective dimensions are more easily die cast to closetolerances.

By providing needle actuating cams as briefly described above, machineneedles are assured of being always under complete control of theircooperating cams, since they etfectively straddle such cams during allphases of the knitting process, and are hence never free to fly tovarious stitch depths, and thereby produce cloth of questionablequality. Since respective cams in a circular knitting machine cooperateperiodically (as determined by the rotational rate of the machinecylinder) and successively with individual needles, they successivelyplace such ice needles under stress. With the prior practice ofemploying only one needle butt in cooperation with a cam slot, allstress in any given needle is borne by that one butt, and attendantlythe frequency of needle breakage in the prior art has been relativelyhigh. With the needlecam combination of the invention, contrarily,stress during actuation of any given needle is distributed between twoneedle butts, and needle breakage has been found to be substantiallyminimized. As an aside, the fact that cams according to the inventionare without narrow slots has also meant improvement as to the questionof machine maintenance: No longer is there the difficult prior art needto clean dirt and filings that collect in narrow cam slots, since withthe invention cams according; thereto have no slots.

A principal object of the invention is to provide improved knittingmachine apparatus.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved apparatus forcontrolling the actuation of needles in a knitting machine.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved cam-needlecombination for use in knitting machines.

Another object of the invention is to provide a camneedle combination,especially useful in circular knitting machines of the independentneedle type, which is easy to manufacture to close tolerances, is easyto maintain, and reduces the tendency of needles to break.

Another object of the invention is to provide a camneedle combination ofcircular knitting machine of the independent needle type, whichcombination so precisely controls continuously such needles that highquality cloth is virtually assured.

The invention will be described with reference to the figures, wherein:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are respectively front and rear elevational views of camsections according to the invention,

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the cam sections of FIGS. 1 and 2 takenalong lines 3-3 thereof,

FIG. 4 is an exploded view, in perspective, that is useful inunderstanding the details of construction of cams according to theinvention, and

FIG. 5 is a. side elevational view of a portion of a circular knittingdepicting the arrangements of parts thereof with which the apparatus ofthe invention cooperates.

Referring to the figures, stitch and raising cams, respectively 1t) and12, are supported by respective cam sections 14. Each stitch cam isprovided with a flange 16 that is adapted to seat within a longitudinalslot 18 in a generally cylindrical piece 20. The cams 10 rigidly secureto their respective cylindrical pieces 20 by means of respective screws22, and the pieces 20 are slidably positionable within respectivegenerally cylindrical channels 24 provided within the cam sections 14.The raising cams l2 rigidly secure to their respective cam sections 14by means of screws 26, and are therefore not relatively positionablewith respect to such sections.

Cut into each stitch cam supporting piece 20 are a pair of notches 28and 30 which provide inclined faces, respectively 32 and 34, for userespectively in indicating the depth of stitch setting, and for varyingsuch setting. Stitch depth adjusting screws 36 are screwably supportedin respective cam sections 14, and are each provided with a tapered tipit) that is adapted to bear against a respective notch face 34. Thepieces 2% with their respective attached stitch cams it are axiallyurged upward, by means of respective compression springs 42 that seatwithin recesses 44 in the cam sections 14, into contact with the tips ofrespective stitch depth adjusting screws 36. The tension in the springs42 is maintained by means of screws 46 that secure a plate 47 to thesection 14. Respective compression springs 48 for exerting axial forceson the screws 36 seat within recesses 50 and serve to lock the screws36, once set, in place. By adjusting a screw 36 so as to compress itsrespective spring 48 the screw tip 40 bears against the notch face 34 tourge the piece 20 downward, whereby the spring 42 further compresses,and whereby a deep setting of the stitch cam is had: By adjusting thescrew 36 to relieve tension in the spring 48, the reverse occurs.

A dial indicator 52 having a spring loaded push rod 54 that is preventedfrom rotating about its own longitudinal axis by means of a rotatablyrestrained pin 56 (restrained by a pair of members 58) has such rod 54bear against the face 32 of the notch 28, whereby axial movement of thestitch cam supporting piece may be reflected by the indicator 52. Thatis, the indicator pointer 60 is positioned by a worm drive 62 thatcooperates with the pin 56, whereby depending on the setting of the pushrod 54 by the face 32 of the notch 28, the setting of the setting of thestitch cam 10 may be determined.

Referring now in particular to FIG. 5, a circular knitting machine thatmay include the cam-needle combination of the invention has a cylinderwhich is fixedly secured (by means of screws 71) to a ring gear 72,which in turn is rotatably driven by a gear drive 74. The gear drive 74is supported by a stationary leg member 76 that fixedly supports anouter ring member 80. A cam retaining ring 82 bolts to the outer ring 80by means of screws 84; and the outer ring 80 and the cam retaining ring82 together form a raceway 86 to accommodate a flange bearing 83 on thering gear 72. The cam sections 14 bolt to the stationary cam retainingring 82 by means of screws 90, and as is known the rotatable cylinder 70is provided with slots 92 for respectively slidably housing thereinlatch needles 94. Hence, the needles 94 are rotatably carried by thecylinder 70 with respect to the stationary cam sections 14.

Each needle 94 has a pair of spaced apart butts 96, 98 which provide afemale part 100 that is adapted to accommodate the stitch and raisingcams 10, 12 as male members for successively lowering and raising theneedles. Therefore, each needle is always held captive by its actuatingearns 10, 12 and attendantly the features of 1) positive stitch depthsetting and (2) shock distribution for the minimizing of needle breakageare provided. The needles 94, traveling in their respective cylinderslots 92 past yarn feed stations 102 knit with yarn 105 fed to theneedle hooks 104 by a yarn carrier 106. The yarn carrier 106 is heldstationary by means of a carrier ring 108 that is itself held fixedly toa sinker cam ring 110 by means of screws 112. The sinker cam ring 110couples to the stationary outer ring 80 by means not shown.

Cooperating with the needles 94 are sinkers 114 which, like the needles94, slidably ride in slots in a sinker rest ring 116. The sinker restring 116 is fixedly held to the cylinder 70 and is rotatable with thecylinder 70. Hence the needles 94 and their cooperating sinkers 114 haverotational phases that are relatedly fixed with respect to each other,and therefore rotate in unison during the generation of cloth 113. Toand fro movement of the sinkers 114 in their respective slots isafforded by sinker cams 120 that fixedly secure to the sinker ca-m ring110 by means of screws 122, which sinker cams ride as male memberswithin female notches 124 in the sinkers 114.

While the invention has been described in its preferred embodiment, itis to be understood that the words which have been used are words ofdescription rather than of limitation and that changes within thepurview of the appended claims may be made without departing from thetrue scope and spirit of the invention.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what is claimedherein is:

1. Apparatus forming part of a circular knitting machine of theindependent needle type comprising a plurality of substantiallyidentical latch type knitting needles each of which has a pair of spacedapart butts, a cylinder having a plurality of parallel slots in itsouter circumferential wall for so slidably housing respective needlesthat the butts of each of said needles protrude from their respectiveslots, a ring member of larger inner diameter than said cylinder outerdiameter and providing a plurality of substantially identical stitchcams and substantially identical raising cams, means supporting saidcylinder and ring member coaxially with respect to each other and forrelatively rotating them, said stitch and raising cams being eachprovided with respective pairs of parallel cam surfaces that are spacedapart by a distance slightly less than the distance between said needlebutts, and each of said stitch and raising cams being so adapted to ridesuccessively as a male member between the butts of said needles that thebutts thereof each cyclically follow respective cam surfaces of each ofsaid cam means, said apparatus including means for positioning saidstitch cams in a direction that is parallel to the slots in saidcylinder, and means for fixedly securing said raising cam to said ringmember.

2. Cam apparatus for use in a circular knitting machine comprising abody portion having a facial part and a sleeve therein that is parallelto and opens along its length into said facial part, said sleeve havinga cross section that is wider than the width of the opening said sleeveprovides in said facial part, a cam supporting piece having a crosssection that is similar to, but slightly smaller than the cross sectionof said sleeve, said cam supporting piece being slidably housed withinsaid sleeve, a stitch cam member having first and second parallel camsurfaces and a substantially fiat face, a raising cam member havingfirst and second parallel cam surfaces and a substantially flat face,means for so securing said stitch cam member to said cam supportingpiece that its fiat face abuts against said facial part, means forfixedly securing said raising cam member to the facial part of said bodyportion, said cam supporting piece having a generally wedge-shaped notchtherein having a wall which is cut at an angle with respect to thelongitudinal axis of that piece, a spring constrained within said sleeveto urge said cam supporting iece one way within said sleeve, thedistance between the parallel surfaces of said stitch cam member beingequal to the distance between parallel surfaces of said raise cammember, and a screw adapted to bear against said wall of the notch insaid cam supporting piece to counterurge said piece against the tensionof said spring.

3. Apparatus for use in a circular knitting machine comprising incombination a body portion having a facial part and sleeve therein thatis parallel to and opens along its length into said facial pant, saidsleeve having a cross section that is wider than the width of theopening said sleeve provides in said facial part, a cam supporting piecehaving a cross section that is similar to, but slightly smaller than thecross section of said sleeve, said cam supporting piece being slidablyhoused within said sleeve, a stitch cam member having first and secondparallel cam surfaces and a substantially fiat face, at raising cammemher having first and second parallel cam surfaces and a substantiallyflat face, means for so securing said stitch cam member to said camsupporting piece that its fiat face abuts against said facial part,means for fixedly securing said raising cam member to the facial part ofsaid body portion, said cam supporting piece having a generallywedge-shaped notch therein having a wall which is cut at an angle withrespect to the longitudinal axis of that piece, a spring constrainedwithin said sleeve to urge said cam supporting piece one way within saidsleeve, a screw adapted to bear against said wall of the notch in saidcam supporting piece to counterurge said piece against the tension ofsaid spring, the distance between the parallel surfaces of said stitchcam member being equal to the distance between parallel surfaces of saidraise cam member, a latch needle having a pair of butts that are spacedapart by a distance slightly greater than the distance between saidparallel cam surfaces, and means for so supporting said needle that bothbutts may ride on said cam surfaces.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 7/1870 Abels 66-423 9/1886Osborne 66-123 XR 10/1890 Davis 66123XR 3/1 91 Holt 66--123 XR 2/1901Gilbert 66-423 XR 10 9/1916 Rush 66-423 XR Jones 66-38 Burdett 66-14Mishcon et a1, 66-54 XR Mishc-on 66107 Farmer 6650 FOREIGN PATENTS GreatBritain.

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

RONALD FELDBAUM, Examiner.

